Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!swrinde!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!lavaca.uh.edu!uhnix1!sugar!ficc!peter From: peter@ficc.ferranti.com (Peter da Silva) Newsgroups: comp.society.futures Subject: Re: A lot of stuff that's been happening lately. Message-ID: Date: 30 Aug 90 21:06:17 GMT References: <5A081B0E041502F3-MTABWIDENER*Joshua.R.Poulson@cyber.widener.edu> Reply-To: peter@ficc.ferranti.com (Peter da Silva) Organization: Xenix Support, FICC Lines: 45 In article <5A081B0E041502F3-MTABWIDENER*Joshua.R.Poulson@cyber.widener.edu> Joshua.R.Poulson@CYBER.WIDENER.EDU writes: > However, there is no precedent and the > executive branch, in a savvy effort, is going as far as it can so that the > things they ARE allowed to do (which they wanted in the first place) will > seem fair and reasonable after these cases are ruled upon. That doesn't mean that the position they're bargaining to is going to be a fair and reasonable one. It'll just *seem* that way by comparison. And I'm not sure they're really working on this premise. Their track record in other areas (eg, the war on drugs) is hardly comforting. > What's going to come out of all of this is that the first people will > escape from the police getting carried away (admittedly they'll be pretty > scared), Escape after losing their job, their business, and their freedom. And just because the laws change doesn't help the folks who got put away before that. Whatever happened to the guy who was bashing on the Berlin Wall every year until he fell down on the other side? > I think that by being tough on these Frontier outlaws we can increase > awareness and scare the bad guys. I don't think so. There's already pretty much awareness, in fact the size and power of the black hats is way overstated. And they've sure scared some of the good guys. > The current stance on hackers is "they're cute and harmless." I personally > think that many can be dangerous and damaging. And many aren't. The problem is that the *basis* for the current law is wrong. If you move backwards from a foray you made in the wrong direction you're still not going the right way. But more to the point, the current stance on hackers in the real world is that they're this all-powerful cabal that must be destroyed at all costs. > The people writing viruses, > worms, trojans, or other clearly damaging programs, are not getting praise > from me, no matter how nice their code is. Hey, where do we make the jump from phrackers to virus writers? (The X versus whatever discussion is interesting, but not appropriate for an extended exchange) -- Peter da Silva. `-_-' +1 713 274 5180. 'U` peter@ferranti.com